It's been a big year for the Club. According to my count we've put on almost 90 races this year which is a huge effort for a small Club. I'd like to thank each and every volunteer that's assisted with these races and in particular those that volunteer time after time to drive vans, organise handicaps, provide first aid, marshal and direct the races. Well done all of you.

With this level of racing I believe that the ACT Veterans Cycling Club offers very good value for money and the Board and I are focused on retaining very reasonable membership fees. That being said - Don't forget to renew your license before then next race!

This year we have had some struggles (not withstanding the sad loss of the previous President) - in particular with the parent organisation, the AVCC. I would like to thank the Board for it's ongoing management of these problems and the usual running of the Club.

Next year the Club will undertake slightly fewer road races due to lower numbers of participants than expected for our road program and the increasingly onerous requirements placed on the Club in regards to marshaling and traffic control. Whilst we often see 30-40 riders racing, some of the grades are not well represented. Next year, why don't you challenge a friend in the same grade to race you on the road? It's a great way to get rid of the winter "I'm not riding enough" blues!

Early in the new year the club is looking to release a new web site designed to be mobile friendly. This should make it easier to get the latest club information and for members to stay on top of the latest club news. In addition your Board is working closely with other cycling organisations and the ACT Government to improve Stromlo, the Narrabundah Velodrome, and other cycling infrastructure.

Finally, please be safe on the roads during the break and don't make it easy for others to target cyclists by not obeying road rules. I look forward to racing and riding with you all next year. Merry Christmas, and a happy new year. May Bike-Santa fill your stockings with tubes, tyres and chain lube!

Dougal TorranceClub President

Boxing Day Recovery Ride – 26th December

The Boxing Day Recovery Ride starts at 8.00 am sharp outside the Jolimont Centre on Northbourne Av. This year's ride will follow the successful format of recent years: two nominated sensible riders will lead along Federal and Old Federal highways with slower riders positioned immediately behind the leaders (so they don't get dropped if the bunch is broken up by traffic light changes) and faster riders go to the back.

We all stay together until the top of Washingmachine Hill. There, riders have a choice of going on to Lake George, the gravel pit or where ever. Those who've had too much Christmas cheer can wait in the shade a the top of the hill. Those resting can join one of the bunches on the return leg. All gather at Dobinson's or nominated coffee shop at end of ride. Note that it's much harder to find an empty cafe now that Canberra has Boxing Day shopping.

Please use Google Groups (under Communication & Discussion in the 'About Us' tab) to post details of other rides during January and beyond.

Rob Langridge

Registration Renewal for 2017

2017 membership renewals are due by 31 December 2016. To renew, go tohttps://memberdesq.sportstg.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main&OrgID=10244or follow the prompts via our websitewww.actvets.cc. Click on the Login link and enter the username and password from last year. If you have forgotten your login and password , after clicking on ‘login’ - go to the tab at the top right hand side of the screen and click on ‘Username & Password’ - then forward your email address as requested in the box that will appear. SportsTG will then forward you the information.

You need to renew your membership prior to 31 December or prior to your first race in 2017.

It is preferable to renew prior to the end of December if you intend to race in 2017. Before each race, a check has to be done of all those registered to race to ensure they are financial members and covered by insurance. As a courtesy to those committee members who work hard to ensure the club complies with the terms of our insurance cover and also produce the race results, please renew your membership at least 2 days prior to racing. Membership costs are:

A full competitive membership for 2017 is $110

A full competitive membership for a sight impaired tandem cyclist for 2017 is $95

Non competitive membership for 2016 is $5

Please note that membership fees for 2017 have increased in line with a $10 increase in the Australian Veteran Cycling Council’s component of membership fees.

Upon renewal, your 2017 licence will be emailed to you direct from SportsTG. Please print out a copy and it is suggested that you laminate it or place it in plastic for future reference during the year ahead. You will need to show this licence if you enter events run by other Veteran Cycling Clubs or the AVCC.

Please ensure that your personal particulars are always kept up to date, in particular your emergency contact details. For those members with First Aid qualifications please also update the site. It is a member’s responsibility to keep these updated via the SportsTG website.

Kirsti McVayMembership Secretary

RACE REPORTS:

Dairy Rd – 18th December

“A” grade started 14 seconds behind B grade due to low numbers. Jason Parkes ripped the legs of B grade for the first couple of laps until A grade dragged them back. Mark Vroomans took out the sprint with Jason second and Chris Kon third. Stjepan Hirsler (normally rides D grade) did an excellent ride finishing in the B grade sprint.

Alex Sommariva blitzed the E grade crew with Phil Anderson second and John Lowe. Linda Stals managed to finish with bike, walking on two legs due to a mechanical gaining 2 points.

Lindsay Graham and Garry Moffit broke away from the F grade bunch with 3 laps to go and finished in that order with Barbara Bayliss third.

G grade saw the crafty Bernie Crowe out class Bruce Jones to take out the sprint.

Stromlo – 20th December

A Grade

With the summer solstice just around the corner, the Vets held their own pagan ritual of riding around in circles for more time than any other time in the year. 42 mins in 26 degrees and windy conditions was bound to take its and it did. Bruce Goodspeed, Seymour Savell-Boss and Dom Romano charged off like scalded cats and quickly created a quarter lap break while the rest of A grade were content to chug along and let C grade pass. After about five minutes, Steve Isbel, Nathan Spillane and Tony Bishop bridged across and this combination worked well for at least another 15 minutes but Dom was the first casualty. Back in the bunch they were also dropping off like flies. With 24 minutes to go Nathan was the next to succumb to the wind and relentless pace while Matt Hinchcliffe tried unsuccessfully to solo across. Bruce and Seymour's A grade breakaway triumph dreams where suddenly shattered when the pace went up again, leaving Steve and Tony to battle on for the remaining 20 minutes. Tony carked it with 14 to go and this then opened the door for Steve's team mate Steve Blackburn to bridge across. The rest of the bunch were not going to permit a Steve quinella, allowing Steve I to solo in for a very classy victory in tough conditions. The margin was such that were he a professional there would have been time to kiss his ring (on his finger!), point to the sky, rock a baby and do some other crazy running impersonation before the bunch were even in the straight. I made sure the crowd were aware of this great achievement as he motored up the finishing straight, so there was some rare clapping as he crossed the line. In the bunch sprint Steve B got second over Marc Vroomans.

C Grade

C grade was a much more placid affair--obviously their solstice celebrations were a lot more inclusive. Only two riders were ditched early on, with the usual suspects such as Ian Preston pushing into the wind. Ben Davis thought he was a chance in the sprint so tossed his water bottle in the direction of the club handicapper and the ever loyal sports trainer Tom Roberts with a few laps to go. Unfortunately, reducing his 100kg frame by a few hundred grams did not ultimately help in the dash to the line. Out of the mob came track superstar Peta Brill, who won by a wheel from Andrew McRae followed by Ben in third. Ben then demonstrated his versatility by directing the next one and half races. Thanks Ben.

Rob Langridge

E Grade

Rolling away under strong winds, all riders behaved themselves early on with all attacks being quickly nullified. Things started to heat up when some roos were spotted wandering onto the course at the southern end with the handicapper dispatched to remove them. Back to the racing it was all Christmas cheer with no dasher or prancers off the front. In the end it came down to a bunch sprint with Kirsty Cummn taking the win ahead of Gillian Lugg and Graham Wilson rounding out 3rd place.

F Grade

Most riders must have been thinking forward to their Xmas lunches with all riders riding together as a single bunch. They started to string out in the latter stages with Robert Miller taking home the win ahead of Mike Hayes and Denis Puniard.

G Grade

The usual game of cat and mouse ensued between Bernie and Bruce but I’m not too sure who is the cat and who is the mouse on most occasions. This time around Bruce roared like a cat and beat Bernie to the line. 2017 will see the great battles resume between these two.

B Grade

With 35 mins to go Robin Mules attacked. The usual glance around in the main peloton asking who was going to chase but no one really wanted to take on this task in the strong winds so early on in the race. We’ll let him cook himself out in front and catch him later on, plenty of time up our sleeve right? This proved to be a costly error as Robin looked to be in fine form with a perfectly balanced cadence and building up a very solid lead halfway through the race. Once again the roos decided to get into the action and the Race Referee took off to the Southern end of the course to remind the roos that they weren’t wearing race numbers nor had they paid their race fees therefore there was no chance in hell that they were getting involved. With 13 mins remaining Robin was joined by Tim Minehan but Robin was riding so well that Tim could only hold on for a few laps before re-joining the chasing group. In the end Robin saluted the judges to record a very impressive win just ahead of a mass sprint with Brendan Savage taking 2nd and Michael Foulds ripping home in 3rd.

D Grade

With 31 mins to go Troy Cassell was inspired by the events going on in B grade so decided to give it a crack. But the big D grade chasers were having none of that and reeled him in fairly quickly. The move of the night in D grade came with 10 mins remaining when Tony Beasley rode off the front and with 2 laps to go had a good 200 metre lead. It must be all that track racing this year that has turned Tony into a very formidable rider because on the final 2 laps he buried himself to take the win ahead of Troy Cassell in 2nd and Brian Chugg in 3rd. (See…. track racing makes you a better rider) Once again the roos thought they’d have the last laugh and invaded the course sending riders ducking and weaving with one of them hitting a rider in the final straight. Thankfully the rider remained upright with the roo being a bit stunned but not requiring medical attention from our sports med Tom. The roo was last seen hopping into the sunset muttering something about those “bloody cyclists!”.

Monday, 26th December: Boxing Day Social Ride

Starting 8:00am in the front of the Jolimont Centre, Civic.

Track Racing

Racing will resume on 4 January.

Road Racing

Racing will resume in February.

RACE REPORTS:

Christmas Wheel Race – 13th December

Nearly 120 riders fronted for one of the club’s most prestigious events the Christmas Wheelrace. The first five riders in each graded heat faced the starter in the final. The heats were hard fought affairs with few holding back to save themselves for the finals.

A,B and C grades featured strong attacks though only the top grade breakaways made it stick. Several grades found themselves sprinting around other grades in the race to the line but cool heads and sensible, safe riding ensured clear air in the race to the line.

Excitement built as riders lined up for the final over four laps. Bruce Jones rode valiantly off the limit mark, leading into t he penultimate lap. But the E and D grade packs were in the box seat and in one of the closest finishes in the history of the wheelrace, Troy Cassell edged out Gillian Lugg, with Phillip Anderson taking third. In a credit to the handicapper, the back markers were in the home straight as the winner crossed the line.

It was a great evening’s racing and a demonstration of why the ACT Vets is such a great organisation. Plenty of volunteers, hard but fair racing and, most importantly, plenty of smiles and conviviality afterwards.

Mick DonaldsonRace Referee

The Wheelrace Winners presented their awards by Club President, Dougal Torrance

Phil Anderson (3rd), Gillian Lugg (2nd), Troy Cassell (1st)

Club Person of the Year

In recognition of 10 years service as Club Treasurer and Membership Secretary, Barb Bayliss was awarded Club Person of the Year for 2016.

Summer 2015/16 Season Points Winners

Womens

Mens

Christmas Track Race – 14th December

Session 10 for the track racing season was the final race session before the Christmas break. Traditionally this session hosts the Christmas Wheel Race and a Christmas celebration. On race day, the weather gods could have been kinder, as the day was quite overcast. By the scheduled warm up time, most areas of Canberra had rain. At Narrabundah, the track was partially wet and the prospects for racing looked bleak. However, from a less than promising start, the scheduled race events proceeded and an excellent post race celebration was held without further rain.

Because of the uncertain weather conditions, the Christmas Wheel Race was run immediately following the session warm up. The Wheel Race is a 6-Lap handicap race and an important trophy race for the track season. As numbers were down due to poor weather, the race proceeded without preliminary heats. Thirteen competitors lined up for the start, with both A and B grade riders participating. The handicap spread between limit and scratch riders was 20 seconds.

Paul Robey led out and had a great race, holding the lead until the final turn into the finish straight. Paul’s pace forced the pursuing riders to put it all on the line. The first two laps of the race saw the loose formation of a B grade bunch and trailing A grade bunch. A few riders remained out front or trapped in no-man’s land. The pace was hot. As the race progressed, the B grade bunch seemed likely to hold out, as A grade could not mount an organised pursuit. However, eventually Peta Brill took up the chase and stimulated A grade to close a daunting gap. The collective A & B grade bunch then barrelled around the second place rider in pursuit of Paul Robey, who continued with a handy lead. With riders accelerating into the sprint and jockeying for position, the bunch rocketed past Paul in the final turn. Paul’s son Ben had cleverly manoeuvred into good position and held off all challenges to take the win. Ben Robey was followed by Alec Millett in second place and Peta Brill in a well deserved third place. Overall, it was an exciting and worthy competition for the Wheel Race Trophy. Congratulations to Ben Robey!

A further 8-Lap scratch race was held following the Wheel Race. Normally this event is graded. However, the modest rider numbers allowed A and B grade to compete simultaneously. To even things up, B grade were given a start of more than half a lap. Once the race commenced, B grade settled into a hot pace with lead riders taking turns of half a lap. A generous start and cohesive work by B grade made them unbeatable. The final lap was all B grade with Steve Hirsler taking the win from Tony Beasley and Ross Scutts in that order.

Next up was a pleasant celebration of the track season to date. The club president Dougal Torrance attended both the racing and the celebratory drinks. Dougal may be a convert to track racing after a first taste.

The track season is currently very successful. Forty riders have participated so far, with an average turnout of around 20 riders per session. Next year’s racing resumes on Wednesday 4 January. If anyone is considering track racing, the new year would be a good time to start.

Registration Renewal for 2017

2017 membership renewals are due by 31 December 2016. To renew, go tohttps://memberdesq.sportstg.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main&OrgID=10244or follow the prompts via our websitewww.actvets.cc.
Click on the Login link and enter the username and password from last
year. If you have forgotten your login and password , after clicking on
‘login’ - go to the tab at the top right hand side of the screen and
click on ‘Username & Password’ - then forward your email address as
requested in the box that will appear. SportsTG will then forward you
the information.

You need to renew your membership prior to 31 December or prior to your first race in 2017.

It
is preferable to renew prior to the end of December if you intend to
race in 2017. Before each race, a check has to be done of all those
registered to race to ensure they are financial members and covered by
insurance. As a courtesy to those committee members who work hard to
ensure the club complies with the terms of our insurance cover and also
produce the race results, please renew your membership at least 2 days
prior to racing. Membership costs are:

A full competitive membership for 2017 is $110

A full competitive membership for a sight impaired tandem cyclist for 2017 is $95

Non competitive membership for 2016 is $5

Please
note that membership fees for 2017 have increased in line with a $10
increase in the Australian Veteran Cycling Council’s component of
membership fees.

Upon
renewal, your 2017 licence will be emailed to you direct from SportsTG.
Please print out a copy and it is suggested that you laminate it or
place it in plastic for future reference during the year ahead. You will
need to show this licence if you enter events run by other Veteran
Cycling Clubs or the AVCC.

Please
ensure that your personal particulars are always kept up to date, in
particular your emergency contact details. For those members with First
Aid qualifications please also update the site. It is a member’s
responsibility to keep these updated via the SportsTG website.

Kirsti McVayMembership Secretary

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 13th December: Stromlo Criterium - Christmas Wheel Race

There will be the traditional wheelrace format, annual presentations, plus the club will be providing soft drinks and snacks.

Nick requires 2 volunteers to assist. Please let Nick know if you can help out.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 6th December

E Grade

A
perfect early summer evening greeted the riders, with clear skies,
pleasant temperatures and little wind. A strong field of E graders
headed off and we were surprised to see the tandem off the back of the
pack from the first corner. We quickly worked out there had been a
change of pilot, so obviously not quite the usual driving force of Steve
Isbel, and maybe some nerves. They chased well but never quite got back
on with the pack setting a fast but steady pace. E grade caught F/G
after 12 minutes and showed the other grades how to complete a quick and
clean overtake. At the 15 minute mark there was a flurry of attacks but
all were quickly closed down. Mark Partridge finally made a break stick
and got out to a 200m lead, but the pack decided they were not going to
let him have it and chased back. In the end a fast bunch sprint
resulted in Kirsty Cummin taking the win from Dale Dummett and Alex
Sommariva,

F/G Grade

A
steady pace was set the whole race with no huge action. After about 10
minutes Bernie and Bruce decided they would have their own G grade race
and worked together. We had one new rider, Theresa McLachlan, who had
some pre-race instructions from Dougal and sat in nicely the whole race.
She then showed that she was not just there for a ride and sprinted for
the win. Dennis Punniard and Robert Miller were a close 2nd and 3rd.

A Grade

Once
again it was on for young and old from the get go. This was evidenced
by a B grader who decided to ride up a grade so as to get home earlier
only to pull out after 4 laps saying "screw that! I’ll race B grade instead".
After 5 mins Aaron Thomson and Stephen Isbel had formed a break of two
which suited Stephen who has been riding tandem for a few weeks. These
two riders worked beautifully and in the blink of an eye they were ½ lap
in front of the main peloton, helped by the their teams killing off any
real chase. There was even a market on the sidelines for whether they
would keep going and lap A grade. This was prevented with a second break
of 3 riders forming with 10 minutes to go, getting some speed going
again. With 2 laps to go they were home and hosed and started to
position for the sprint only for Stephen having to navigate some
dawdling C graders. Get off the track as quickly as possible once you
finish C grade! On the final lap it was literally a David vs Goliath
battle with most thinking the sprinting power of Aaron would prevail.
However Stephen positioned Aaron perfectly as a lead out man and
sprinted home for a very impressive win ahead of Aaron in 2nd place.
Daylight to 3rd which was Ben Carmody.

C Grade

A
fairly tame start compared to A grade however when A passed C grade a
few riders from C took it upon themselves to jump onto the back of A and
form a break. Reminder that when being overtaken the race is at this
stage neutral. You cannot use the power of the passing grade to sneak
away and the Race referee will come down on you if you try this trick.
After a warning the few breakaway riders got the drift and stayed off
the back of A but as predicted such an effort to stay with A grade will
usually hurt and those that did join in on the sneaky break quickly
found their legs replaced with a set of bricks and were reeled in by the
chasing C grade pack. In the end it all came together and was whittled
down to just a few riders in a very closely fought sprint with Graham
Tanton edging out Radi Kovacevic and Warwick Wilson.

B Grade

B
grade had obviously been watching the successful tactics of A grade
with Mark Taylor and Dougal Torrance leaping off the front on lap 1
establishing a 200m lead. Unfortunately for them the advantage of team
tactics did not apply and the bunch kept them at a steady gap and then
closed them down after 8 minutes. Dougal launched an immediate counter
attack with Andrew Murrel and Michael Foulds, but again were closed down
after 5 minutes. Things steadied a bit with a few minor attacks but all
quickly closed until with 13 minutes to go Al Bontjer (obviously
starting to find some form), Jas Parkes, Dougal and Mark Taylor
established a four man break. I thought they may have made the winning
move but again the strength in the bunch came through and reeled them in
after a couple of laps. Nick Boylan tried his usual flyer with 7
minutes to go and was joined by Brendan Savage but the bunch was having
none of it. While Dougal wins the award for most attacking ride of the
night his efforts were to no avail. The bunch sprint ended up going in a
tightly fought win to Ian Mongan followed by Al Bontjer and Brendan
Savage.

D Grade

D
grade decided to put a good race on too, with Michael Hanbury launching
an early attack. His legs weren’t quite agreeing with the tactic though
and he was soon caught. A few laps later a 6 rider group formed and
they tried to set up a good working rhythm but the bunch sensed the
danger and put the effort in to close them down quickly. With 10 minutes
to go the pace was put on and caused some splits with 10 riders getting
away. Matt Dyne attempted a solo and established a 50m lead but again
the bunched closed it down. At this point it was obvious they were
headed to a bunch sprint and with B grade catching we had to neutralise
the race for a little while to ensure a safe pass and enough gap that
they could then safely sprint. Another good clean bunch sprint resulted
in Michael Hannaford coming in for a win, closely followed by Matt Dyne
and James Curran.

Thanks
to the supporters with Rob our first aider also backing up to assist
with results, Dougal Torrance helping out before his race, then Paul
Robey coming in to do some first aid training and assist. Ben Davis
stood in for me while I raced A grade and then a quick tag team effort
let him get out for his B grade race.

Paul ConnorRace Referee

Narrabundah Track Racing – 7th December

Session
9 for the track racing season provided excellent conditions for racing.
The evening was clear, warm to hot, with a slight headwind in the back
straight. Attendance was eighteen riders with a big roll up in A grade.

The
8-lap A grade scratch race started at moderate pace. However, the pack
held together for just three laps before things became interesting.
First to attack was Ed Garnett. Ed’s attack was covered by Alec Millett
and Ben Davis. The trio opened a 7 metre gap and splintered the pack for
a few laps. However, by lap 5, the pack had consolidated. With 2 laps
to go, Ben Robey made a break with Ben Davis in tow. At this stage the
bunch was just winding up and soon streamed past the lead pair to set up
for the bell lap. Steve Jones took the win from Michael Langdon with an
excellent ride by John Paul De Sousa for third place.

In
B grade, Sue Powell joined the track group for her first race this
season. The 8-lap B grade scratch race settled into a solid pace with no
attacks until the penultimate lap. As the bell lap approached the pace
cranked up, splintering the group and spitting out two riders. From a
torrid final lap, Sue Powell emerged with a victory over Tony Beasley
and Phil Anderson in that order.

The
second event of the evening was a taxing, 24-lap points race. The race
rules permitted lapped riders to participate in sprints and allowed a
bonus if any rider could gain a lap on the field. In the event, no rider
in A or B grade managed to lap the field.

In
the A grade points race there were four sprints. Ed Garnett and Ben
Robey ventured out early for the first sprint. However, they were
overcome by Alec Millett and Steve Jones with Ben holding on for third
place points. As the second sprint approached, Rowan McMurray, Michael
Langdon and Kerry Knowler ventured out early. This was a good move as
they crossed the line in that order. When further laps ticked by, the
stronger riders held front positions and cranked up for the sprint
points. The order for the final two sprints was Steve Jones, Michael
Langdon, Andrew Peel then Michael Langdon, Steve Jones and Ben Davis.
The overall points wash up put Steve Jones and Michael on top points
(19). Next places were Kerry Knowler and Ben Davis (6 each) and Alec
Millett, Andrew Peel and Ben Robey (5 each).

There
were three sprints in the B grade points race. The first two sprints
provided an identical result with the order being Sue Powell, Tony
Beasley, Phil Anderson, Ross Scutts and Phil Coulton. As the final laps
approached, Ross Scutts put in an effective attack. However, Tony
Beasley soon followed Ross’s wheel and easily overtook him at the
finish. Phil Coulton held on for third in the final sprint. The overall
points result saw Tony Beasley (18) take first placing followed by Ross
Scutts and Sue Powell (12) then Phil Anderson (10).

The
final event was an all-in Italian Pursuit. There were initially eight
pursuit riders on each team. However, a miscount required adjustment in
the initial laps for Team 2. The pursuit was one of the closest to date.
Each team had a good run with riders coordinating well and putting in
their best effort. As the laps ticked by, the teams were holding within 1
– 2 metres each lap. For the final lap, anchor riders Steve Jones (Team
2) and Michael Langdon (Team 1) were matched up. Michael had about 1
metre initial advantage. Steve put in a good lap but could not gain at
all on Michael. At the finish the margin was around 1.5 metres for Team 1
– a great contest.

Dairy Flat Criterium – 11th December

A
somewhat overcast morning greeted the riders for Dairy Flat Criterium
racing on Sunday morning. Along with many people out running, riding and
walking their dogs this was the perfect venue for Sunday morning racing
and worth getting out of bed for. The format for the racing was
individual points racing with points available every 2nd lap with double
sprint points for the final lap.

First
up was E, F & G grade. These are the early risers because although
the racing started at 8:00am, there were already a few around at 7:15
warming up. The first and eager on the scene was newcomer John Lowe.
Welcome to the club John! A first time racer he decided to join the more
experienced riders in G grade. After about 1 lap he decided to go it
alone and tried chasing down E & F grade who had started earlier. As
a result he scooped up all sprint points on offer and was never headed.
However not to be outdone Bernie and Bruce put on a good sprint each
and every time for the minor points with Bernie edging out Bruce by half
a wheel length each time.

F
Grade was a two rider head-to-head clash with Lindsay Graham taking on
Garry Moffitt. Lindsay took the first sprint with Garry taking the 2nd
sprint. This looked to be a good race until disaster struck Garry with a
rear flat tyre. This left Lindsay having to ride the remaining 16
minutes at any pace he wanted to secure the F grade win.

In
E grade we had 4 riders with Phil Anderson rolling on a pair of
beautiful Zipps meaning he was ready for business. Each sprint was
tightly contested with James Tonkin taking honors each time just ahead
of Phil Anderson. Not to be outdone Rosemary and Lyn kept the men honest
and claimed minor sprint placing. 1st- James Tonkin (15 points), 2nd-
Phil Anderson (10 points), 3rd- Lyn Vasudeva (3 points).

C
& D Grade- You had obviously had some pretty big xmas parties the
night before because we got no D graders turn up and only 2 C graders.
Either that or Santa needs to get you new alarm clocks this year.

B
Grade- The 2 x C graders took the plunge and decided to join the 7
other B graders on the line. Full credit to Ian & Rico as lesser
mortals would have been daunted by such a task and went off for a
training ride. After the first two sprints things were pretty even. Then
Peter Merrick decided to hit accelerate button and attacked. He
subsequently took the next 2 sprints out on the front with Rob Langridge
and Ian Preston chasing hard. The rest tried the catch but were
unsuccessful. After the 4th sprint Peter Merrick then showed some
sprinters tactics by joining up with Rob and Ian and forming a 3 man
breakaway. In each of the sprints following Peter outfoxed his two
amigos in the break to take maximum points. 2nd and 3rd were well
rewarded by joining the break. 1st- Peter Merrick (19 points), 2nd- Ian
Preston (9 points), 3rd-Robert Langridge (8 points).

A
Grade- 5 of the best presented at the line ready for 40 minutes of fun.
This was the closest racing all day with each sprint being hard fought
by all 5 riders. It was a see-saw points race as Christophe Barberet,
Mark Harris & Marc Vroomans all accumulated the 3’s & 2’s. There
were some minor attacks throughout the race but nothing was successful.
On the final sprint lap we had Marc on 12 points, Christophe on 11 and
Mark Harris on 10, the double points were going to be the decider.
Coming round past the final tree once again all 5 were battling it out
with Mark Harris just edging out Christophe who was flying home just
ahead of Marc Vroomans. 1st- Mark Harris (16 points), 2nd- Christophe
Barberet (15 points), 3rd-Marc Vroomans (14 points).

Thanks
to Marc Vroomans for helping at the finish line in the early part of
racing before donning the helmet for his race and Simon the sports medic
for ensuring help was on hand in case there was an accident which
fortunately didn’t occur.

Workplace Training and Assessment qualifications

As you may be aware, the club relies on qualified traffic controllers to assist in running races. It's been a while since the previous course, the delay being due to a lack of people qualified with a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment. These people are required to train others in the same qualification in the ACT.

If you have a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment and are interested in assisting in the running of a traffic controller course please identify yourself to me.

Race Directors for 2017

The club’s ability to conduct racing for the benefit of the member’s comes down to handful of Race Director’s who donate their time to ensuring the racing is held in safe conditions and in the spirit of the club’s racing etiquette. But we always would like to be able to add more members to our Race Director ranks so as to share the workload. So we are on the lookout for any club member’s who are interested in becoming a Race Director in 2017. Race Directing is not a hard task and means just a few hours of your time when you need to direct a race, the bonus is that you’ll receive a healthy 20 point addition to your season points score which may prove the difference if you’re racing to win overall season honours.

If you’re interested in throwing your hat into the ring for 2017 and becoming a race director all you need to do is to emailrace.committee@actvets.ccand register your interest or approach one of the club officials at the crits on a Tuesday night.

A short course will be run to introduce new Race Directors to the process prior to your first race and that a Qualified Referee would be assisting you through the process.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 29th November

A Grade

Maybe it was the earlier start time for A grade which kept the numbers to a lower 19 starters. From the get go in A what I can only describe as the dream team of vets cycling made a break with Ed Pellegrino, Mark Harris, Ben Morrison and Jason Chalker moving out on lap 2 of the race. If you wanted to witness a 40 min effort where all riders worked together to keep the break intact then this was your day. They were never caught and rode at a pace where once they had consolidated their lead they didn’t make or lose time. Very smart riding! It came down to a tactical final lap sprint with Ben Morrison again showing he is the guy to beat in A ahead of Mark Harris and Jason Chalker in 3rd. Also don’t forget Ed Pellegrino who was No 4 of the steam train who worked all night for the break.

B Grade

30 riders at the start line and another huge B grade turnout. Surely there was going to be some early attacks to split such a large group up? But no, the B grades decided that this race was going to be fairly pedestrian and decided to ride together as a group for all of the race. This was audibly obvious 21 mins into the race when 2 riders made a break and as the main peloton came past the finish line the words “Don’t go too hard” was overheard. It ended up in a downhill mass sprint finish with about 5 riders hitting the line at once. After some careful consideration by the officials 1st place was given to David Mullens ahead of Andrew Murrell and Craig Tozer.

C Grade

Only 10 riders lined up for the start of C grade. The tandem of Liny Hou and Stephen Isbel decided an early xmas present was due for C Grade. That is a xmas present of pain! Early attacks by the tandem fractured C Grade pretty quickly. At the halfway mark there was a break of 3 riders with the tandem hovering behind ready to bite again. However the 3 others were now well aware of the threat posed by the tandem and worked smart to ensure there were no further attacks. In the end Kevin Wells took home a fine win just ahead of the Tandem of Lindy and Stephen with Ben Healy in 3rd place.

D Grade

Another great turnout of 27 riders for D grade, but once again they were all content to hold hands for the entire race with no attacks. The only promising attack began with 1.5 laps to go with a lone rider deciding to scurry for the finish line only to be gobbled up and spat out the back with half a lap to go, this big D grade were not having a bar of any attack and wanted another mass sprint finish which they duly got. Once again the officials were not troubled by the racing and trying to keep track of the breaks and counter attacks, they were only troubled by trying to slow-mo down the finish and work out who crossed the line first in amongst the 13 riders who hit the line almost simultaneously. This time Radi Kovacevic was determined the winner ahead of Troy Cassell and Phil Martin.

E Grade

First to line up for E Grade was the newly promoted Ian Morton who decided self-promotion was the only honorable thing to do after blitzing F grade for the last few weeks. 12 riders lined up with only 1 DNF at the end. With 12 mins to go Michael Golding went on the attack and this started to split the group up. But he was reeled in and re-joined the swarming pack. This was the only enterprising attack that I saw come from E grade and once again it came down to a bunch sprint. Tony Sheehan look line honours ahead of James Curran and Phil Anderson.

F Grade

8 riders F joined by 3 riders in G for the last event of the night. With the sun beginning it’s descent behind Mount Stromlo it was agreed to cut the race a tad shorter to avoid finishing in the dark. E and F grade quickly sorted themselves out a few laps in. As per the other races of the night (Bar A Grade), F Grade rode close and tight together all race and once again tested the eyes of the finish line officials with a bunch sprint finish. Robert Miller took out 1st place just ahead of Dennis Puniard with Raphaela Sheehan in 3rd place.

G Grade

It was the B1 & B2 show with Bernie and Bruce dropping Heather midway through the race to setup a tactical sprint finish. So tactical was it that I reckon they planned on hitting the line exactly together to once again test us at the finish line. In the end we gave it to Bruce by a “Bee’s private part”, which I’m led to believe is somewhere between a flea’s private part and a ant’s private part.

Many Thanks to Paul Ledbrook who called me up on Tuesday afternoon and offered to help as a marshal. It’s always helpful to have a 2nd helper at these events especially tonight with so may close finishes. Kim Malcolm did a great job managing the sign-on sheets and unlocking the gates and Tom Roberts the sports med for ensuring help was on hand in case of any accidents which fortunately was not required on the night.

Ben Davis
Race Referee

Narrabundah Track Racing – 30rd November

Session 8 for the track racing season attracted 17 riders. Weather conditions were very good. There was a little cloud and a few drops of rain around on the day. However, by race time, it was quite hot with a mild headwind in the back straight. Attendance was slightly down, but compensated by the enthusiasm of the competitors who showed up.

It is obvious that riders have better form, as the season progresses. The pace in the 10-lap A grade scratch race was hot from the start. No one dared venture off the front until lap 9 when Michael Langdon hauled off with Kerry Knowler in tow. The pair gapped the field by 6-8 metres before Steve Jones sensed the danger and accelerated round the pack, in pursuit. Steve managed to haul in Kerry just before the finish. Michael had made a perfectly timed attack and held on for a fine win.

The 10-lap B grade scratch race also settled into a solid pace. When Graeme O’Neill took the lead on Lap 6, he tried to slow the pace a notch. Tony Beasley took this opportunity to attack. The pack streamed around the lead rider and accelerated into the remaining laps. The furious pace spreadeagled the field. However, Phil Anderson stuck to Tony’s wheel and overhauled him on the bell lap to take the win. Tony Beasley held second place followed by Ross Scutts in third.

The next event was a 2-lap handicap. In A grade, Kerry Knowler lead out from a good handicap and made it clear to the rest of the pack that hard work was needed to haul her in. Michael Langdon put in a big effort from the scratch mark but could not advance to better than mid field. Ben Robey and Tony O’Connor had good rides from mid field to be among the final contenders. At the finish, Kerry Knowler held on for a good win with Ben Robey and Tony O’Connor taking the second and third placing.

The B grade handicap saw close racing and a big effort from all riders. Riders coalesced into a loose group on lap 2 and streamed past the leader in the final bend. Phil Anderson was on form and took his second win for the evening. Phil Coulton had a fine ride to hold second place from Tony Beasley in third.

The handicaps were followed by a 12 lap points race with two intermediate sprints and a final sprint for double points. In A Grade John-Paul DeSousa took the initiative on the first sprint. John-Paul gapped the field handily. However, Steve Jones made a late pursuit and just overhauled JP on the line. The second sprint saw Steve Jones, Michael Langdon and Alec Millett take the points in that order. As the final sprint approached, Kerry Knowler took off and established an unbeatable lead. Steve Jones and Michel Langdon had to be satisfied with second and third on the line. The overall points result saw Steve Jones take first placing followed by Michael Langdon / Kerry Knowler (equal points) and Alec Millett.

In B Grade, the Phil Coulton took the initiative on the first sprint. However, he was run down by Tony Beasley, who took maximum points. In the second sprint, Phil Anderson was too strong for the field. As the final sprint approached Ross Scutts took off and held a handy lead right to the finish. Tony Beasley and Phil Anderson followed over the line in that order. The overall points result saw Tony Beasley take first placing followed by Ross Scutts and Phil Anderson respectively.

There were seven pursuit riders on each team for the all-in Italian Pursuit. The pursuit was a scorcher. Steve Jones, anchoring Team 1, reported a speed reading over 50 km/hr on the lead out lap by Phil Coulton. The pace did not slacken after that. Both team were evenly matched and the result looked close. A brilliant lap by Ben Robey gained a few metres advantage for Team 2. Alec Millett and Michael Langdon were not going to surrender that advantage. They put in fine laps to book a win for Team 2.

Mt McDonald Time Trial – 4th December

With a couple of major interstate events at Bright and L'Etape competing for rider's attention it was a small turnout for the annual Mt McDonald Time Trial. 18 riders took advantage of the great weather conditions to test their legs against the hill.

The only major challenge on the day was to roll a dead wombat off the road (I think there should be bonus points for road-kill wrangling).

With A, B and G Grades only managing a single competitor each, it was a race against personal best times for Christophe Barberet, Seymour Savell-Boss and Bernie Crowe. C Grade had 6 competitors with Ian Preston taking a 38 second victory over Christopher Kon with Warwick Wilson a further 8 seconds back. 7 E Graders took to the course with Kirsti McVay a narrow 6 seconds ahead of Terry Merrigan and Tony Sheehan 18 seconds further back. Ross Scutts took a 59 second victory over Des Brown in D Grade.

Many thanks to the ATCs, Ian Albrey and Lindsay Graham for ensuring a safe start, helpers James Curran at the start and Jan Koehler at the finish and Graham Hendrie for bringing the van and also running the timing for the race.

Workplace Training and Assessment qualifications

As you may be aware, the club relies on qualified traffic controllers to assist in running races. It's been a while since the previous course, the delay being due to a lack of people qualified with a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment. These people are required to train others in the same qualification in the ACT.

If you have a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment and are interested in assisting in the running of a traffic controller course please identify yourself to me.

The ACT Vets Committee encourages members to always pay close attention to the mechanical soundness of their bikes.

Vintage Bike Exhibition

Peter Taylor is a postman and cycling enthusiast, who services bicycles from his garage workshop and maintains a large and wonderful collection of vintage racing bikes. The highlights from Peter’s collection will be on display at the Canberra Museum and Gallery starting from Thursday 1 December 2016 until 5 March 2017.

The range includes rare Post World War II European bikes to an Australian bike raced at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The exhibition coincides with the inaugural L’Étape Australia by Le Tour de France cycling event which will take place in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales in December.

The event would be delighted to welcome Pedal Power ACT members to the opening – by Minister Gordon Ramsay Minister for the Arts and Community Events at 12Noon Wed 30 November at CMAG.

Race Directors for 2017

The club’s ability to conduct racing for the benefit of the member’s comes down to handful of Race Director’s who donate their time to ensuring the racing is held in safe conditions and in the spirit of the club’s racing etiquette. But we always would like to be able to add more members to our Race Director ranks so as to share the workload. So we are on the lookout for any club member’s who are interested in becoming a Race Director in 2017. Race Directing is not a hard task and means just a few hours of your time when you need to direct a race, the bonus is that you’ll receive a healthy 20 point addition to your season points score which may prove the difference if you’re racing to win overall season honours.

If you’re interested in throwing your hat into the ring for 2017 and becoming a race director all you need to do is to emailrace.committee@actvets.ccand register your interest or approach one of the club officials at the crits on a Tuesday night.

A short course will be run to introduce new Race Directors to the process prior to your first race and that a Qualified Referee would be assisting you through the process.

Ian will need a couple of volunteers to help out. Please let him know if you can assist.

RACE REPORTS:

Uriarra – 13th November

“Four season in one day”. That’s what I would describe the racing at Uriarra. Driving out to Uriarra, it was sunshine. 10 minutes after pulling up at Uriarra myself and some of the volunteers were huddling under the back door of the van whilst a rain band passed by. Then the wind picked up, the flies came out to dance and there was even reports of snow falling on the mountains nearby. Of course those riders who decided to ride out were stuck between choosing to continue to ride out in the rain only to find that racing had been cancelled or turn around and head for home. Those who continued were rewarded with racing conditions that were difficult to say the least. It was even hailing in the latter half of the racing!

With a hotdog course going up to Condor creek and back to the top of Uriarra crossing, we decided to give A, B, C & D grades 2 laps and E, F & G 1 lap due to the lower rider numbers and the weather. We started a few mins late to allow for the various riders taking shelter under trees on their way out to the course to get to the start line and sign-on in time.

A & B grade combined for a 9 rider start group only to split up on the first foray into the mountains. Coming back past the judges with a strong tail wind behind them, they were flying towards the Uriarra turn point. After 1 lap, a group of 4 riders were together. However Peter Marshall decided to up the pace on the 2nd lap and by last time coming past the finish line heading towards the final Uriarra turn point he had a good 40 second break on the chase group. It stayed this way on the final leg back to the finish line with Peter coming home fastest of the day and taking out A grade. A minute behind came the chase group sprint with Christophe Barberet in B grade able to stay with Rohan Verco and Paul Welsh and take out the sprint.

C & D grade started together with Des Brown being the lone D grader who braved the conditions. After ½ a lap Ian Preston had stretched his legs and was putting some hurt into the chase group. However he was caught after 1 lap. Nick Boylan chanced his luck in the 2nd half of the race and this proved to be decisive and he took out the B grade win by about 50 seconds from Ian Preston and John Paul De Souza in 3rd. I was also made aware of a new nickname for Chris Kon (Velcro Kon). I guess one had to be out on the course to understand this new nickname.

E, F & G grades all combined for a 1 lap circuit and Rosemary Robinson decided that it would be a 1 lap solo time trial event and cleared away early and proceeded to increase her margin at every point of the race. She finished 2 minutes clear of everyone else. Maybe she was just trying to outrun the flies that had invaded the course after the rain stopped? Pete Lafferty and David Gunther rounded out the minor placings in E grade with Ian Morton and Bernie Crowe taking out F & G grade respectively.

The weather made our marshals perform their tasks in trying conditions. Polly Templeton did a fantastic job as ATC at the Uriarra Turnpoint, Ian Albery in the lonely Condor Creek turn point and Rob Langridge doing push-ups, squats and sprints trying to keep warm at the Uriarra intersection. Back at race central I was assisted by the great work of Graham Hendrie, John Ignatius and David McCook who is still recovering from a bike accident a few days beforehand. Also thanks to Tom Roberts our ever reliable sports med who was not required on the day for any serious incidents.

Ben Davis

Stromlo – 22nd November

A warm evening soothed by a setting sun was the scene for Stromlo vet crit racing. Could it get any better than this? Obviously not with big numbers across all grades, it really was the perfect night for racing.

B & D were first up with 31 riders in B and 32 in D. 12 mins into the B grade race we had our first attack of the night with Christopher Kon joined by 1 other for a short break that quickly got reeled in. It was a game of cat and mouse in B grade with no one keen to make a move early on. Over in D grade it was a similar story with no attacks in the early stages. After B grade overtook them, the tempo rose a bit with D grade hanging just off the back of B grade. Then what looked like a promising break of 5 riders in D led by John Thorn fizzled out quickly after 1 lap. It certainly looked like no break were going to succeed on the night. With 3 mins to go in D grade the move of the race was made with 3 riders breaking away to a good lead. This then got whittled down to Ben Healy with 1 lap to go and he held off the chase group to record the win ahead of Matt Dyne and Simon Johnston in 3rd place. B grade ended up in a mass sprint finish with Ian Mongan taking the flag ahead of Chris Kon and Dougal “El Presidente” Torrance back in 3rd.

E,F & G were next up. E grade rolled away on time with 13 riders in tow. F & G then rolled away with 11 in F and 2 in G. Things were very cordial as they normally are in these races with no attacks and an agreement to ride at a sensible pace. In E grade there was the odd attack but nothing successful and it came down to a final lap frenzy with the field quickly blowing apart after some strong turns by James Curran at the front who made the beeline for the finish line in 1st ahead of Phil Anderson in 2nd and Paul McKay in 3rd. F grade also got down to business in the last few mins with Ian Morton edging out Mike Hayes and Robert Miller. Meanwhile in G grade Heather Sommariva had a friendly ride with Bernie Crowe and pipped Bernie out for 1st place.

The final racing of the night was down to A & C grade. By now there were more flies than riders with 23 riders in A and 17 in C. Unusually the Dominator went for an attack joined by 1 other in the first few minutes. Obviously wanted to get as much air time for his sponsors on tv as possible. Then as usual the kangaroos decided to join in on the fun so our secretary went down to the southern end of the track for a roo shoo. They mustn’t respect authority as a few mins after Phil got back to the line they were back again. 13 mins into A grade Mark Harris made an enterprising break joined by Nathan Spillane. I thought this was going to be a very strong break but the main bunch was not having any of it and organized themselves well to chase them down. With 13 mins to go, a strong break was made with Antony Bishop scooting away along with 2 others and they worked well to setup a 200 mtr break. But again the pace whittled down the lead group leaving Bishop and Hinchcliffe to go it alone. They were then joined by a chase group of 3 and once again worked very strong together. On the bell lap the strategy of each rider came into play and they slowed down and with the main field making huge gains on them in the final lap it looked like they were going to get swamped. But Ben Morrison took off and was not caught. Paul Connor took 2nd with Antony Bishop taking 3rd and best aggressive rider for the night. C grade stayed together for most of the race with the odd break being attempted but all riders were quick to respond. It stayed this way right until the final sprint for the line. There would have been 10-14 riders all in the final sprint right across the track with Stuart Cathcart showing his sprint speed to take out the win ahead of Graham Tanton and Treston Bamber in 3rd.

Many Thanks to Bryan Holloway who put his hand up to help with marshal duties and stay injury free before his son’s wedding…wise move! Also thanks to Graham Hendrie for his tireless work behind the scenes at sign on and closing up.

Narrabundah Track Racing – 23rd November

The seventh track racing session for the 16-17 season attracted 15 riders. The attendance was slightly down, as the race day was notable for poor weather. From morning until around 2.00pm, it rained solidly. However, by 4.00pm the weather cleared enough to dry the track, in time for racing. There was a small sprinkling of rain during the events and some wind to cope with. However, conditions were good enough to hold three of the four scheduled events.

The 10-lap A grade scratch race was competitive, as usual. The bunch circulated at a solid pace before Michael Langdon and Antony Bishop put in an attack on Lap 6. Michael seemed unconvinced by the attack and drifted back to the bunch. However, Antony Bishop persisted. With two laps to go, he held a 10 metre gap and looked strong. By the bell lap, he looked even better, with a 15 metre gap. However, the bell lap saw a surge from the bunch, with Steve Jones, Paul Connor and Alec Millett accelerating to close the gap on a tiring leader. Steve took the sprint from Paul Connor with Antony Bishop hanging on for a well deserved, third place.

The 10-Lap B grade scratch race settled in with some solid pace. By Lap 7 one rider had tailed off. Ross Scutts took the lead and initially looked a good prospect, as he gapped the field. As the bell lap started Steve Hirsler put in a well timed attack with Phil Anderson following and looking threatening. Steve held off Phil as the two crossed the line in first and second place. Tony Beasley overtook a tiring Ross Scutts to take third.

The next event was a 4-lap handicap. It is always difficult to handicap these longer events, due to the formation of bunches. In A grade, the handicapper tried a new scheme with most riders slotted into starting groups. This seemed to provide good racing. After a lap or so, riders coalesced into 2 main bunches and started working together. The scratch bunch caught the lead bunch halfway through the bell lap. Paul Connor surged to the line to take a second win for the night, closely followed by Michael Langdon and Steve Jones in that order.

The B grade handicap saw riders spread out more on handicap. By the end of lap 3, all riders had coalesced into a bunch that was travelling at pace and dropped the last rider overtaken. The bunch barrelled into the bell lap and set up for a sprint finish. Tony Beasley took the sprint from Phil Anderson and Phil Coulton. Well done to Phil Coulton for hanging in the bunch when overtaken.

The weather became unsettled as the B grade handicap concluded. After a short interval for the track to dry, the planned points race was cancelled and the race program jumped straight to the normal, all-in, Italian Pursuit finale.

There were 8 pursuit riders on team on Team 1 and 7 riders on Team 2. This required Team 2 to put in an extra lap to compensate for the shortfall of one rider. On paper, team 1 looked stronger in the middle and Team 2 looked to have a slight advantage with the anchor group. Initially the race looked like unfolding to form. However, some great laps by John Paul DeSousa, Alec Millett and Kerry Knowler cemented the mid race advantage of Team 1. By lap 7, Team 1 held a comfortable lead. However, it looked possible for Team 2 to close the gap. Both Michael Langdon and Antony Bishop put in big final efforts for Team 2. However, it was not enough to prevent Steve Jones and Paul Connor closing it out for a well fought, Team 1 win.

Dairy Rd – 27th November

There was a small turnout for the Dairy Flat Criterium last Sunday with only 21 riders across all grades.

G grade got the ball rolling and whilst Bernie took all the sprints to win the race, Bruce was right on his tail crossing the line each time. There was no F Grade and in E grade the bunch mostly stayed together to contest the spints. Philip Anderson consistently placed in the sprints to the win the grade but he was regularly tested by Alison Hale. Some nice attacking by Rosemary Robinson towards the end put some pressure on the other riders but ultimately Rosemary came up a little short.

A and B grades were the next to roll away. The first couple of sprints were close affairs in A grade however, about half way into the race Paul Scherl put the hammer down and soloed his way to the finish leaving Peter and Seymour to battle it out for second which Seymour eventually took. B grade provided the most competitive racing on the day. David Dickson got out to an early lead in the points standing but consistent sprinting from Jason Parkes saw him in with a chance to take the win on the last sprint. There were a couple of attacks off the front, especially from Heath Chester which David had to respond to. However from the sidelines it looked like the other riders were happy to help David out in the chasing which shut down the breakaways. Ultimately David was able to come away with the win after a bunch sprint on the final lap.

There were only 4 riders across C and D grades so a last minute decision was made to have the grades race as one. Rather than ride together and contest the sprints, Kevin Wells charged off the front after 3 laps and was never headed. Andrew McRae and Michael Hanbury worked well together but were unable to pull any real ground back on Kevin. Kudos to Greg Mitchell who continued to fight along even though he was dropped early on. Its not always so easy to ride up a grade on the hotdog course!

Overall it was a very quiet day of race directing. Thanks to Graham Hendrie for setting up and dismantling the course.

Vintage Bike Exhibition

Peter Taylor is a postman and cycling enthusiast, who services bicycles from his garage workshop and maintains a large and wonderful collection of vintage racing bikes. The highlights from Peter’s collection will be on display at the Canberra Museum and Gallery starting from Thursday 1 December 2016 until 5 March 2017.

The range includes rare Post World War II European bikes to an Australian bike raced at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The exhibition coincides with the inaugural L’Étape Australia by Le Tour de France cycling event which will take place in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales in December.

The event would be delighted to welcome Pedal Power ACT members to the opening – by Minister Gordon Ramsay Minister for the Arts and Community Events at 12Noon Wed 30 November at CMAG.

Race Directors for 2017

The club’s ability to conduct racing for the benefit of the member’s comes down to handful of Race Director’s who donate their time to ensuring the racing is held in safe conditions and in the spirit of the club’s racing etiquette. But we always would like to be able to add more members to our Race Director ranks so as to share the workload. So we are on the lookout for any club member’s who are interested in becoming a Race Director in 2017. Race Directing is not a hard task and means just a few hours of your time when you need to direct a race, the bonus is that you’ll receive a healthy 20 point addition to your season points score which may prove the difference if you’re racing to win overall season honours.

If you’re interested in throwing your hat into the ring for 2017 and becoming a race director all you need to do is to emailrace.committee@actvets.ccand register your interest or approach one of the club officials at the crits on a Tuesday night.

Nick will need a volunteer to help out. Please let him know if you can assist.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 15th November

Other than a slight breeze (by Stromlo's standards) and the threat of rain, it was perfect weather for some great racing.

E/F/G were first off the rank. The two visitors, David and Dale, showed their hand early in E grade. David took the lead about half way through and gave a strong solo performance, only relinquishing his lead in the final sprint. Mike Golding also tested the water early in the race, but the final results were determined by a big bunch sprint. With the sprint spreading the bunch out, Phillip Martin, Kirsty Cummin and Michael Golding were the first three across the line. Towards the start of the race, Bob Miller attempted to pull off the front in F grade, but was quickly pulled back in. F stayed together as a bunch for the rest of the race. Once again, it was a bunch sprint that determined the placing with Andrew O'Neil coming first followed by Bob Miller and Ian Morton. And, of course, Bernard gave a commanding solo performance in G grade.

Next was B and D grade. With dark clouds in the distance, and random drops of water falling on my paper, it was not looking too good for the finish of the B/D race. But fortunately the threat of rain dissipated quickly. Very early in the race a group of three riders, Paul Ledbrook, Dougal Torrance and Nick Boylan, took the lead in B grade. At one point they had a lead of nearly half a lap. About half way through the race Ben McDuff managed to get onto the leading bunch of three, with some help. The group of four remained well in front of the rest of the bunch with the top three placings going to Ben McDuff, Paul Ledbrook and Dougal Torrance. There were a few attempts of a breakaway in D grade, but they were all brought back into the fold. D grade remained together as a bunch with the final sprint placings going to Roger Wheatley, Radi Kovacevic and Ben Healy.

With the light fading, A and C grades were the last ones to race. The pace in A grade was set to maximum right from the start, as demonstrated by the relatively large number of DNFs. Maybe we should start using the Greek alphabet to find a grade for the first two place holders, Stephen Isbel and Ed Pellegrino. They managed to finished about 3/4 of a lap in front of the rest of the grade. All indications are that if we had continued racing they would have lapped the rest of A grade. The third placing, held by Mark Harris, was determined by a bunch sprint. As with D grade, C grade quickly annihilated any attempts at a breakaway and essentially stayed together as a bunch throughout the race. The first three placings going to Wayne Shippley, Bryan Holloway and Tom Tokich were determined by a final bunch sprint.

I have a number of people I would like to thank. I would like to thank Santa for helping to sweep the track. Even if he likes to scare little children with talk of Bleat reports. Thank you to Graham and Phill for helping out with the registration and setting up the equipment. As a race director, I am always apprehensive when the bunches come together. Thank you to those riders who were calling out when overtaking and to those who moved over and let the other riders quickly go past. Standing on the sidelines it looked like the overtaking went smoothly, I hope it felt the same in the bunch. And finally, a BIG thank you to Barbara and Mary for helping out with the finishing chute and start line.

Linda Stals

Narrabundah Track Racing – 16th November

The sixth Track Racing session for 2016-17 attracted 19 riders, maintaining the good record for attendance so far this season. The evening was warm and initially looked like providing perfect conditions for racing. However, the wind was unpredictable, initially light then strengthening suddenly for the second race and later moderating, but swirling around the velodrome.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was very competitive. Antony Bishop had a first outing with the track group, reinforcing a group of strong riders in A grade. The race unfolded with several riders trying attacks from time to time. However, no one was allowed to get away. The nett effect of the abortive attacks was to raise the pace to a ferocious level by Lap 6. At the end of this lap, Antony Bishop made an early burst for the finish. Steve Jones and Michael Langdon hitched on with the trio gapping the field by 6 – 8 metres. Antony’s lead out set up Steve Jones perfectly for the sprint win. He was closely followed by Michael Langdon with Antony taking a well deserved third place.

The 8-Lap B grade scratch race started at an easy pace. Dominic Rideaux soon took the front, acting as derny for the group and holding a good steady pace over several laps. The race became interesting approaching lap seven. The pace suddenly surged with riders jockeying for a good position at the start of the bell lap. The race transitioned to a classic bunch sprint from which Phil Anderson emerged victorious over Ross Scutts and Steve Dean. The win set up a good night, overall, for Phil.

The next event was a 200 metre flying time trial. This event is a flat chat sprint over 200 metres from a flying start. It is quite technical with the acceleration and positioning approaching the start being critical. It is a quick, fun event. Most of the A grade times were clustered between 14 and 15 seconds. Antony Bishop and Steve Jones went under 14 seconds with Antony taking first place in 13.28 seconds and Steve following in 13.40 seconds. Ben Robey did a great time of 14.05 seconds, taking third from Michael Langdon by just one hundredth of a second. The B grade times were mostly clustered between 15 and 16 seconds. Two riders went under 15 seconds with Steve Dean taking a win at 14.36 seconds and Steve Hirsler taking second in 14.66 seconds. Both riders love this event and it shows. Phil Anderson took third for B grade in 15.21 seconds.

Michael Langdon Attacks from the Front as the Bunch Relax

The third event was a 10-Lap Snowball. The event had a points sprint every two laps. This event is similar to a points race, except that the sprint points increase progressively through the race, making tactics crucial. In A grade, Peta Brill took the first sprint and established a break with Ben Robey. Ben and Peta held on to take the next two sprints in turn. By Lap seven, the bunch had caught the breakaways, with Steve Jones taking the next two sprints. The final points wash up for the event was Steve Jones (9), Antony Bishop (6), Peta Brill (5), Ben Robey (5), Michael Langdon (5), Kerry Knowler (5). It was interesting to find four riders on equal third points.

In the B grade Snowball, Steve Hirsler showed the initial enterprise to take sprint 1. He was soon chased by Phil Anderson and eventually Ross Scutts. Steve held on to take the first four sprints. In the final sprint Ross Scutts finally overpowered Steve. Additionally, Phil Coulton struggled up to third place with a gutsy effort. The final points wash up for the event was Steve Hirsler (8), Phil Anderson (6), Ross Scutts (5), Phil Coulton (3), Steve Dean (2).

The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. There were 8 riders on each team. The outcome was difficult to predict as Team 1 appeared to have better anchor riders and Team 2 appeared to have a stronger line up for mid race. The race ran largely to script with Team 2 establishing an early lead and Team 1 chasing this down. By Lap 6 both teams were even. However, a big effort by Steve Jones and Antony Bishop brought it home for Team 1.

Old Federal Highway Handicap – 20th November

What a great day for a 48km handicap--especially if you are watching from the sidelines! Thanks to Reinhard Mauch for offering to help at the last moment and he was rewarded with the trail car duties. Many of the riders looked a little fried at the end but I'm sure those who finished would have enjoyed the hit-out. Bernie Crowe got the race under way for G grade. Such was Bernie's speed and stealth that lead car driver Bruce Jones didn't even see him go past at the start. However, Bruce was much more alert later in the race when he spotted two red belly black snakes on the course and encouraged them to leave. The lesser handicapped riders complained when I announced the distance of "FOUR LAPS", but how else can you achieve 48km on a 12Km course? Some grades also didn't take my advice of "slow up the hills and fast down," and notable grade destroyers applied the reverse tactic much to their group's peril. A grade only had four riders so had the advantage of the A2 start time and so were in the running for a win but only Peter Marshall and Tom Hartley could sustain their fierce pace until the end.

Tom Roberts, one of our regular first aiders, was on hand but his services were fortunately not required. We should really also employ a psychologist to provide counselling to the low self-esteem locals who obviously think they own the Old Fed. Today's confrontation was when a local in a huge V8 pick-up, so threatened by the sight of Tom, Graham Hendrie and me standing at the finish, felt that he had to rev his engines at the start/finish line and then roar off! (And not come to a complete stop at the stop sign, I might add.)

The race got quite exciting by the last lap, as C should have caught D to take the lead and Peter and Tom were passing everyone else. But my predictions were wrong and in the end it was the old warrior and master tactician Mark Taylor who attacked his group of D and E graders on the last crest and was able to (relatively) cruise into the finish ahead of Alain Arbaut and Michael Hanbury. Peter was the fastest for the day and only 28 seconds back. So my other advice at the start should have been "Don't let Mark Taylor ride away because you'll never catch him." Mark did the same thing at Breadalbane not long ago. The riders who rode out would have had a hot slog back but no doubt enjoyed some quality couch time in the arvo. Thanks also to Dave McGuiness at the Lake George turn, Allan Bontjer for driving out the race director, and, of course, to Graham who once again unpacked the van, set up the urn registered the riders, recorded the times, printed out the results and posted them in the RMS. If you haven’t already said thanks, bought him a beer, listed him in your will, cleaned his bike for him this year please do, as time is running out. We also can’t forget the contribution of Ian Morton who set up the signs along the course. Ian has a particular fondness for whacking in star pickets into NSW soil, but shares the burden in the ACT.

RACE REPORTS:

Narrabundah Track Racing – 9th November

The fifth Track Racing session for 2016-17 attracted another good roll up of 20 riders. The evening was unsettled with predicted rain. However, the cloud formation for the warm up and initial racing looked benign and suggested the full race program should be viable.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race unfolded in an unexpected manner. The pace was solid and held the pack together for the first five laps, with no riders dropped. Ben Robey tried an attack. However, it was quickly covered by Michael Langdon, causing Ben to lose interest. Next lap, Michael Langdon and Alec Millett put in an attack. When this was covered by Kerry Knowler, Michael lost interest leaving Alec and Kerry to carry on with their surge. As the bell lap approached, the bunch realised they had given Alec and Kerry a bit too much lead. Michael Langdon, Steve Jones and Paul Connor set about retrieving the situation. They managed to catch and pass Kerry. However, Alec held on for an enterprising and well deserved win. Steve Jones and Paul Connor took second and third places, respectively.

The 8-Lap B grade scratch race started at an easy pace. However, the pace lifted incrementally as the laps ticked by, until one rider was dropped. The remaining pack was together approaching the bell lap. The race transitioned to a classic bunch sprint from which Ian Drayton emerged victorious over Phil Anderson and Tony Beasley. It was a good return to form for Ian, after a week of ill health.

The next event was a 2-Lap time trial taken from a standing start at the railing. There was a little apprehension, as 2 laps provide the perfect distance for a real gut busting effort. The times were quite interesting with a bigger spread in A grade than we are used to. Paul Connor set the best time at 51.03 seconds, closely followed by Michael Langdon at 51.47 seconds. Alec Millett showed his good form by setting the third best A grade time at 52.64 seconds. In B grade, three riders went round in under 60 seconds. Steve Dean set a great winning time of 55.70 seconds. He was followed by Wayne Shippley in 58.40 seconds, then Ian Drayton in 59.95 seconds. It was good to see Wayne Shippley have success in his first outing with the track group.

By the start of the third race, the weather conditions were looking decidedly less promising. A decision was made to forego the scheduled Snowball events and proceed to the final, all in, Italian pursuit to finish the session. There were 8 riders on each team, so the prospects were good for the usual enjoyable and tough event. The unfolding race confirmed that the teams were quite evenly matched. Team 1 made a good start and picked up a useful lead. However, Team 2 was unfazed and steadily pegged back the small advantage. Kerry Knowler and Ben Robey, riding in the middle of Team 2, put in great laps to give Team 2 a handy lead. Andrew Peel, Paul Connor and Michael Langdon, who anchored Team 1, put in fine efforts. However, Steve Jones was able to take the win for team 2 by around 6 metres. This is not a large margin after 8 laps.

Racing concluded for the evening with all participants dry and happy. As the last rider closed the track gate, the heavens opened up and dumped a torrent onto the venue. Sometimes things just turn out as they should!

5 Marshals will be required for this event. Please contact Ian if you can assist.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 1st November

A pleasant but windy evening greeted us again for racing, with the main concern on the start line being a couple of kangaroos happily grazing on the inside of the circuit. Strong fields in both B & D grade line up, with 32 and 24 riders respectively.

B grade set of and Dougal Torrance quickly stirred things up with some early breaks. Unfortunately he may need to learn how to measure his efforts a bit better as the bunch pulled him back both times and he then paid the price when the pace was picked up half way through. No major activity occurred until the power was put down after 15 minutes with a few splits starting to open up. Next lap the bunch shattered in the cross wind with about 4 distinct bunches forming. We had 4 riders off the front with a bunch of 10 chasing, 3 riders ultimately making it across to the lead bunch. The group of 7 made up of Seymour Savell-Boss, Ben McDuff, Christophe Barbaret, Paul Ledbrook, David McCook, Michael Foulds and Andrew Murrell worked well together to open up a good gap to the chasing field, which had largely regrouped. Other than some issues passing D grade - not sure how hard it is to obey the 'Stay Right' command - no the other right!! - the lead group continued to smoothly swap turns until with 5 minutes to go both Michael and Andrew's legs decided no more. The remaining 5 sprinted with Seymour taking a well deserved win, followed by Ben and Christophe. Michael and Andrew continued to work together and just managed to hold off the fast finishing bunch.

D grade decided that riding together was the best approach in the windy conditions with little real action throughout the race. Michael Hanbury tried a couple of attacks but the bunch fairly quickly dragged him back and it all came down to a bunch sprint. There were a couple of early moved going down the back straight but Michael Hanbury ended up timing his sprint well to take the win. He was closely followed by John Thorn, in a good show of form, and Michael Reppion rounding out the podium.

Paul Connor

After racing in B grade, I took over as race director from Paul so he could go off and warm up for the A grade race. E grade had a reasonably sized bunch with 18 riders who mostly stayed together until the final sprint – other than a few who dropped off the back when the going got a little tough in the wind. Treston Bamber, a visitor to the club, came home strongly, followed by Tony Henry and Steve Dean. Perhaps Treston will be up in D grade next week if he is back.

F grade was a smaller bunch of 9 riders and they mostly stayed together, except that Ian Morton and Sue Frost got away for a bit early on. The effort obviously didn’t affect either of them too much with Ian coming in strongly for second and Sue in third, behind Simon Reardon – another visitor on the night who might be up in E grade next week if he is back. G grade was largely uneventful with only Heather Sommariva and Bruce Jones circulating together and finishing in that order.

By the time we got to the A and C grade bunches, light was starting to fade and it didn’t look like we would fit in the 35 minutes+2 that had been advertised for A grade. A quick discussion with the 16 A graders ensued and we settled on 25 minutes plus 2 laps which turned out to be just about right. The A grade bunch was pretty volatile, as always with various riders off the front at times. John Drury and Nathan Spillane opened up a sizable gap after 6 minutes and were away for a while but were reeled back in once the bunch got a little more serious. Peter Kitchen was away for a while after that, followed by Ed Pellegrino and Antony Bishop, but it was all back together with 5 or 6 minutes to go. The effort didn’t seem to do too much to Antony’s legs as he won the sprint from the ever present Mark Harris and Paul Connor.

It was also pretty volatile in C grade with the 13 strong bunch splitting into a few groups. After a bit the lead group coalesced with Wayne Shipley, Liny Hou and Stephen Isbel on the tandem, Bryan Holloway, Tom Tokich, Jayson Clarke, and David Jukes (visitor). Tom and Jayson dropped away a little at the finish and the sprint was won by Wayne followed by the tandem and Bryan.

Thanks to Graeme for his usual effort with registration, and Lloyd and Richard who kindly offered to help out with marshalling efforts.

Dale Kleeman

Narrabundah Track Racing – 2nd November

The fourth Track Racing session for 2016-17 attracted a good roll up of 22 riders. The evening was warm with a fresh breeze creating a headwind in the back straight. The wind did not moderate until late in the racing session.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was largely a bunch sprint. The pace was solid and held the big pack together for the first five laps, with only two riders dropped. Michael Langdon put in a feeler attack on lap 6. He gained about 10 metres before Alex Millett and Martin Graham sensed the danger and closed him down. Martin stuck on the front with the overall pace up a notch, as the bell lap approached. The pack accelerated into the bell lap and held together at furious pace. The final sprint was very close with Steve Jones just pipping Paul Conner and Michael Langdon in that order.

The 8-Lap B grade scratch race looked to unfold as a bunch sprint. The pack consolidated approaching the bell lap with only a single rider dropped. However, Matt Morgan surprised the bunch by jumping early in the bell lap, soon gaining an unbeatable 30 metre gap. Matt held on to take a good win with Andrew Peel and Ross Scutts picking up the consolations in second and third respectively.

The next race was a 4-lap handicap. In A grade, Kerry Knowler set the pace from a good handicap. She went well out and, initially, looked a good prospect for the win. However, by the close of Lap 2, Craig Kentwell and Chris Thompson had caught Kerry, forming a lead group. On the bell lap, the anchor riders Alec Millett, Paul Connor, Michael Langdon and Steve Jones hauled in the leaders setting up a hotly contested sprint. Paul Connor took the sprint lead and held it to the line to just beat Michael Langdon and Steve Jones in second and third respectively.

In the 4-lap B Grade handicap, Alison Hale made the most of a good handicap by lapping at a solid pace. Only Steve Hirsler could overhaul her in the final lap. Andrew Peel could not quite make it and had to settle for third behind Alison.

A 6-lap Miss & Out race followed the handicap. In this race the first across the line, each lap, drops out. The winning order is the same as the sequence of drop out. In A grade, Steve Jones took the win followed, in sequence, by Paul Connor, Michael Langdon, Alec Millett and Kerry Knowler. To their credit, the final sprint was very closely contested by Kerry Knowler, Ben Robey and Chris Thompson. In B Grade, Steve Hirsler took the first sprint for the win followed, in sequence, by Andrew Peel, Phil Coulton, Ross Scutts and Phil Anderson.

The track session closed with the usual all-in, Italian pursuit. With 9 riders on each team, this was going to be an enjoyable and tough event that would stress the anchor riders. The teams were quite evenly matched. Team 2 likely made a tactical error in ordering their anchor riders. However, it is uncertain whether this was decisive. In the event, both Teams got off to a good start with Team 1 gaining a slight lead. Team 1 then increased their lead significantly, until around mid race when the situation began to reverse. As the anchor riders took over, it looked like Team 2 might be able to close the gap. However, the evening had taken its toll. Though Martin Graham, Paul Conner and Steve Jones put in their best, they could not manage the heroic effort needed, at that stage. Michael Langdon took a comfortable win for Team 1.

ACT Veterans Weekly Bleat, Monday 31st October, 2016

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Most riders seem to have sorted themselves out and are riding in the correct grade. Please let me know if you want to be officially regraded. A few riders have been showing some great early season form. Seymour Savell-Boss had been riding C and D grade since 2009, but after a lot of hard work over the winter is now one of the strong riders in B grade, and was only 1/4 lap away from winning a solo breakaway boil-over recently.

Sunday, 6th November: No Road Race

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 25th October

Light winds gracing Stromlo Forest Park with a warming sun closing out the last few hours of a striking sunny day. This was the scene that greeted the biggest turnout of riders thus far this Crit season. Supported by fabulous volunteers in Jan Koehler and Richard Bourne along with Tom Roberts the Sports med the only obstacle to overcome on the night was the lap board being in for repairs meaning we had to make do with a whiteboard marker and my booming voice to keep riders informed of the timings.

Up first were E, F & G grade. E grade was a huge 22 riders and it was great to see a real competitive racing situation develop as the race wore on. Several set the pace which at times tested some in the peloton. There were some promising breakaways but each time they got hauled back in by the large roving pack. In the end Anthony Bray took advantage of a final lap surprise attack to claim the win ahead of Kristy Cummin and Phillip Martin in 3rd. F & G grade started together with a total of 9 riders across both grades. They quickly sorted themselves out into their respective grades 400 metres into the race with Paul Robey doing some quality turns at the front. Both F & G grade stayed as single units through the 20 minutes until the end sprint with Lindsay Graham taking out a great F grade win ahead of Dennis Puniard and Pauline Thorn. In G grade Heather Sommariva sprinted home to win ahead of Bernie Crowe and Bruce Jones.

A & C were next up. Those in the stands were treated to great racing in both grades. I think about 5 minutes into the racing, we had riders spread across all parts of the course and it became extremely hard to keep progress of who was lapping who and catching who. In C grade a group of 3 got a decent lead 6 mins into the race and just couldn’t work well enough together and were eventually caught by yet another large group of 16 riders. There were surges throughout C grade which split the groups into several herds of riders.

In A grade it was on like Donkey Kong from the word go with a break of 4 riders setting up a good lead early in the race. Behind them a very organized chase group managed to reel them back in but before too long and in the blink of an eye there was a 8 rider break with a 6 rider chase pack in close proximity. Close riding with every rider seeking that slight drag advantage saw some riders perform a bit of grass edging up the final straight. Thankfully they were able to clean out of a few weeds and stay upright at the same time.

With 5 mins to go, we had groups catching groups, groups being lapped, attacks, counter attacks, DNF’s coming in, it was all happening. The finish in both grades were hard fought sprints with Ben Morrison maintaining his 100% A grade win record for the season by just edging out Mark Harris and Antony Bishop in 3rd. C grade was taken by Jason McAvoy ahead of Wayne Shippley with the tandem machine of Lindy Hou rounding out 3rd place.

In the final event of the night as the sun was dropping below the perilous Mt Stromlo and with the warm air quickly evaporating giving away to cooler wind, B & D grade lined up. Again big numbers with 24 riders in B and 19 in D. 2 laps in and Paul Ledbrook led 2 others riders on an ambitious break which really got motoring. The pace was really good but it proved too much for Paul who dropped back into the chase peloton.

Meanwhile in D grade a 2 rider break had formed and seemed to have taken the main peloton by surprise as they were mostly holding hands coming past the finish not intent on chasing. But when they decided to chase down the break, they did it with gusto and came back together again. Crit racing has many tactics and it was halfway through the race we saw B grade pass D and fortune favours the brave at this point of the race with Mark Hutchings taking an opportunistic break from D to not tag onto B grade ( as that is not allowed) but maintain a good gap from his chasing counterparts. He even caught us by surprise as we mistook him for a rider tailing off the back of B, such was the effortless expression on his face each lap he came past us.

In the end lone B grader Matt Hinchcliffe maintained his lead over the chasing group to take out the win ahead of an ecstatic Richard Hedley and Andrew Murrell in the mass sprint for the minors. In D grade Mark Hutchings strolled home for a win ahead of Adam Potts and Duane Toohey.

My only observation to report for the night was a celebration in the mass sprint in B grade for the minor placings. All riders regardless of how good your bike handling skills are should maintain both hands on the bars whilst crossing the line. Especially in a sprint with 10-15 riders even putting up one hand in celebration has the potential to cause serious injury at the high speeds that bunch sprints often occur at. Therefore all riders are on notice that any fist pumps, rocking the baby, salutes to the sun, pointing at sponsors on your jersey, blowing the smoke from your pistol finger or any action that involves taking 1 or both hands off the bars as you cross the finish line will not be tolerated and will see you relegated down to the bottom of the page in your grade result.

It’s fantastic to see a great rider turn out for week 3 and always a pleasure to witness great racing across all grades.

RegardsBen DavisRace Referee

Narrabundah Track Racing – 26th October

A warm evening and twenty track riders made for an excellent third Track Racing session for the 2016-17 season. Initially the wind looked a problem with a very stiff headwind in the back straight. As usual, the wind moderated as racing progressed.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was enlivened by an attack from Kerry Knowler on lap 3. Kerry gained a considerable lead before Alec Millett finally burst from the pack to take up a chase. Alec is in good form and caught Kerry by Lap 5. Unfortunately, with both riders well positioned, Kerry began to flag, leaving Alec exposed over the final laps. Michael Langdon and Steve Jones accelerated over these laps and comfortably reeled in Alec. Michael had the legs to take the win by around 2 metres. Steve took second and Alec held on for a well deserved third place.

The B Grade scratch race started easy. However, the pace quickened by lap 4 and was quite solid over the final two laps. The final sprint was hotly contested, with Roger Wheatley taking a narrow victory over Ian Drayton and Andrew Peel in second and third place, respectively.

The evening’s second event was a 20-lap points race. This is a very tough event with three intermediate sprints and one final sprint for accumulating points. To make things interesting, the stronger sprinters in each grade conceded a half lap start to the other riders. In A grade, Rowan McMurray and Chris Thompson competed for the first sprint. Rowan took a narrow victory and, sensing a tactical advantage, held his pace to open up a very significant lead on the two pursuing bunches. Both bunches kept up a solid pursuit and began to fracture under the relentless pace. Rowan took the second and third sprints and seemed likely to hold off the limit bunch to the end. A gutsy final effort from Steve Jones eventually reeled in Rowan and allowed Steve to use his superior sprinting prowess to take the final sprint. By then, Rowan was unbeatable on points. The event ended with Rowan and Steve taking the first and second places with 24 and 14 points respectively. Michael Langdon, Craig Kentwell and Ben Robey took equal third with 12 points.

The B grade points race virtually followed the script set by A grade. In this instance, it was relative newcomer, Tony Beasley, who took the initiative. Tony was second to Steve Hirsler in the first sprint. However, he held his pace to establish a significant lead over the two pursuing bunches. Tony looked strong throughout the event and comfortably held his lead to take the next two intermediate sprints. Over the final five laps, a pursuing bunch with Andrew Peel, Ross Scutts, Ian Drayton and Phil Anderson managed to reel in Tony. Andrew Peel took the final sprint closely followed by Steve Hirsler. Tony still had sufficient energy for third place in the final sprint. The final points wash up was Tony Beasley (22 points) first place, Ross Scutts (18 points) second place. Again, three riders (Steve Hirsler, Phil Anderson and Andrew Peel) took equal third with 12 points.

The track session closed with the usual all-in, Italian pursuit. With 10 riders on each team, this was going to be an enjoyable, competitive and tough event, especially for the limit riders. Team 1 made a good start with Graeme O’Neill and Phil Coulton leading out. From this point, first one then the other team made marginal gains. However, Team 1 held a lead throughout the race. By the time Team 2 was down to their last two riders, the situation seemed hopeless. Alec Millett put in all the effort he had left after a hard night and Steve Jones did likewise. However, the pace held from mid race by Rowan McMurray, John-Paul DeSousa, Craig Kentwell, Chris Thompson and Michael Langdon left no room for an upset. Team 1 took a comfortable win by around 8 metres.

Lift to Fitz's

Does anyone planning on riding the 210/250 km Fitzs on Sunday have room for another rider and bike? I'd appreciate a lift out to the start. I live in Watson. If you can help, please contact me directly atdon.mankewich@hotmail.com.

Sunday, 30th October: No Road Race

RACE REPORTS:

Correction from 11th October

Many thanks to Lloyd Bennett for his assistance on the night with running the race and apologies for the incorrect name in the Race Report.

Roger Northcote

Stromlo – 18th October

Tuesday afternoon was overcast with rain forecast. Wind was a stiff northerly. The forecast must have dampened the enthusiasm of some cyclists as only 73 cyclists attended compared to 83 the week before.

A and C grade started the evening’s racing. The format for the races were that both grades were given 25 minutes with C given 2 laps after time had expired whilst A had 3 laps. In the final laps the grades were shown separate lapboards and a whistle was used to signal C grade’s final lap, A received the traditional bell.

A grade began with 3 riders getting away in the first few laps. These riders were bought back and racing from then on was fast but uneventful. With 5 mins to go the original bunch of 9 had been reduced to 6. The final sprint resulted in Ben Morrison winning from Marc Vroomasns and Jeremy Muir.

C grade stayed together for the first half of the race. With 5 minutes (+2 laps) to go the field had been reduced to 10 riders, from an original 13. Craig Tozer put in a blistering final downhill sprint to move ahead of the fast finishing Claire Aubrey. Bryan Holloway edged out Ian Preston to get 3rd place.

Twenty-two riders started in B grade. B grade was a much more attacking race than the 2 earlier grades. Three riders led by Robin Mules got away early and although the lead changed on numerous occasions the race was won by riders from the chasing peleton. Mark Terrachini, Seymour Savell-Boss, Simon Milnes and Paul Ledbrook all featured in the early attacks with Paul Ledbrook and one other still attacking in the final 3 laps. The break was bought back in the final lap with the sprint finish going to Brendan Lakey from Peter Young and Allan Bontjer.

D grade Race was fairly uneventful until the final 7 laps. Mark Hutchins opened a break with Elizabeth daSilva giving chase. At 2 laps to go David Gunther was the only rider away and the final result went to Andrew McRae, Stjepan Hirsler and Michael Handbury.

E, F and G grades started together in the last of the evening light as the sky was becoming very overcast. A field of 12 E grade riders set a strong pace a separated the four riders that made up F and G grade. The strong E grade bunch soon spread the riders all over the track and in the fading light it became difficult to determine which lap the slower riders were on. There were some notable efforts during the E grade race and two of those riders we identified were Adam Potts and Alison Hale. Not only did these 2 riders feature in the attacks they also finished first and second.

David Witteveen was the only F grader to start (and finish) and Lindsay Graham led Bruce Jones and Bernie Crow in the G grade race.

Thanks to Tom Roberts our sports trainer (first aid) who helped me with the marshaling as there were no volunteers. All went well thanks to Bruce and one or two others who helped before their races). However Rosemary Robinson got in an extra lap due to the confusion created by 3 grades spread all around the track, fading light and the lack of marshals.

Paul Robey

Narrabundah Track Racing – 19th October

The second Track Racing session for the 2016-17 season attracted a total of twenty-one riders, an encouraging start to the season. The weather was still cool with a very stiff headwind in the back straight. Fortunately the wind moderated as racing progressed.

The 6-lap A grade scratch race may have been influenced by the wind, as no breaks were attempted. The pace started easy and progressively increased putting pressure on several riders and spitting two out the back. As the bell lap approached, Michael Langdon put in a very well timed attack leading Steve Jones over the final lap and holding on for a fine win. Steve took second place with Alec Millett maintaining his good form to take third.

The B Grade scratch race also started easy. However, Steve Hirsler hit the front after three laps and cranked up the pace, considerably. As the whole bunch barrelled into the final lap, Phil Anderson and later Ross Scutts appeared at the front. They were, in turn, swamped by the trio, Ian Drayton, Steve Hirsler and Roger Wheatley who finished in that order.

The evening’s second event was a 2-lap handicap. At this early stage in the season, handicapping is a challenge. Nevertheless it was good to see Steve Dean and Paul Robey make the best of their handicaps to take the wins in A and B grade respectively. Peta Brill and Alec Millet took second and third places in A grade. Matt Morgan and Steve Hirsler took the equivalent places in B grade.

The third event for the session was a mystery race with the final (bell) lap called at random, between laps 5 -9, in this instance. In A grade, Michael Langdon sensed the final lap perfectly, with a well timed break. However, Steve Jones put in a maximal effort to just overhaul Michael on the line. Alec Millett took third place. In B grade, Ian Drayton confirmed his good form with a win over Steve Hirsler and Roger Wheatley.

The track session closed with the usual all-in, Italian pursuit. This was a big race with teams having 9 or 10 members. The race was a little chaotic. Team 1 were required to put in a extra lap, being one rider down. However, the pace was so solid, that a rider in Team 2 dropped off early, requiring the anchor rider, Steve Jones to also put in an extra lap. Despite the chaos, Team 2 took a comfortable win.